Sustainable methods to deter deer

General Discussions
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Someone mentioned in another thread that they have a lot of deer problems. I figure this is probably common, so it’s worth a thread all its own!

I don’t have deer problems in my neighborhood, but my mom has massive deer pressure in hers. She plans to build a high fence for her food and only grow inedible ornamentals outside of it.

I’ve suggested that she has a very tall deck with a steep staircase that a deer probably couldn’t climb, so maybe she could try growing some food plants in pots up on her deck. She’s in a rainy climate, so pots probably would probably stay moist enough to be viable, even though they’re prone to drying out more quickly.

If you have ever experienced deer pressure, what strategies have worked for you to deter them from eating your food?

Here are two that I’ve heard about and never tried.

I’ve read somewhere that the smell of fresh human urine scares deer away. Especially if it comes from a young, healthy male. That odor screams to deer, “There is a scary predator here that might eat me!” Which makes sense, because it’s literally accurate. :wink:

People buy powdered coyote urine to sprinkle around their garden to scare deer, so this seems like a similar strategy. And it’s sustainable long-term, because it’s not like you’re going to lose access to that resource.

The other strategy I’ve heard of is that deer don’t like the smell of alliums, so it may make sense to plant a perimeter of alliums around things like fruit trees. Maybe evergreen alliums, like walking onions or chives or garlic chives, so they’d be available to give off an odor that repels deer all year round. (Regular garlic leaves tend to die down from late June until October, at least in my climate. It’s perennial, but not evergreen.)

Any other ideas?

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Human Urine only tells deer that people were here. If they have no reason to fear what that smell means, it won’t work because it all depends on the deer you have & How they have been conditioned psychologically. In my Suburban Neighborhood where Deer encounter people often, deer aren’t scared by that smell because in Suburban Neighborhood/Apartments Humans do not hunt them, infact they feed them (Intentionally & Unintentionally via gardening). Deer are so used to humans where I live that I can easily get 2 feet away from a deer & they don’t care or barely move (More so out of annoyance rather than fear).

This makes sense as my local forests are filled with plants that deer don’t like (Or Grow fast enough to survive deer browse). My local forests are filled with plants they don’t eat such as , Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), Garlic Mustard (Allaria petiolata), Crow Garlic (Allium vineale), Shiso (Perilla frutecens), All these plants are “Invasive species” mainly because they have strong smells that taste bad to deer (& Ground Hogs).

However there are also “Invasive Species” that are inconvenient for deer to eat (Mostly just browses tips) like Thorny Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora), Thorny Brambles (Blackberries (Rubus spp.), Black Raspberry (Rubus occidentails), Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius)), Thorny Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). Maples (Acer rubrum, Acer negundo, Acer saccharum), Vine & Bush Honeysuckles (Lonicera spp.), Autumn Olive (Eleagnus umbellata).

Then there are plants that grow faster than deer can eat them such as White Mulberry (Morus alba), Wild Grapes (Vitus spp.) & I think maybe Sumac (Rhus spp.) or maybe deer just ignore them. Perhaps highways are too scary for them (Clearly not enough as Cars are still the #1 Predator for deer).

I’ve seen “Invasive” roses Protect a “Native” Persimmon from deer browse.

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PLENTY!!! Here’s all the Strategies I’ve Learned.

  1. Deer Hate Swales on Contour. Flat Land on hills look very unnatural to them.
  2. Deer Hate Tight Corridors (Tall Thick Hallways of Greenery/Plants on both sides)
  3. Deer will Jump over walls (Or through Holes) if they seed food on the other side. Take advantage of their poor 3D Depth vision with a 3D Living Fence of (Forground, Background, Tall, Short) Plants that Blocks out view of your garden (Also have Fence behind it all for safe measure). Sorgum, Bamboo, Hardy Thorny Citrus, Black Locust work well as a Living wall when mixed altogether (As long as you can maintain it). This is why Thick Thorny mess of Brambles & Rosehips work so well.
  4. Deer Follow Scent, especially where wind blows. (Deer need reason to fear smell)
  5. Deer Leave Biological Deserts alone since there’s no food for them. (Thick Shaded Forrest Under-story doesn’t grow their favorite foods, but Forrest Edges do as that’s where the most wild edibles are found, for human & Deer alike).
  6. Deer will eat anything if desperate enough. Plant their favorite foods to bend path of least resistance in your favor.
  7. Applying Bone Sauce/Salve to trees/shrubs is SUPER EFFECTIVE & if made properly, the smell can last for years. Deer especially hate that smell, because it makes them think the tree is a rotting corpse. Mixing sand with the bone sauce is even BETTER, just in case your deer are bold/slow to the smell, the horrible texture will make them regret trying & REMEMBER IT!
  8. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION! Parking lot garden revived no deer pressure vs Forrest Garden revived all the deer pressure. Buy land near Amish/Heavily Hunted areas or Invite Hunters on your land to take care of problem (If you’re aren’t willing to do it yourself).
  9. Shoot Deer in Leg (So they can tell their friends to be scared of Humans again). Or get a Good Dog (Which is cheaper & Will happily accept payment in the form of Food from garden).
  10. Sticking Dry Bamboo (With leaves) next to Young Trees Protects/Hides them from deer. IDK why it works, it just does (Maybe they can’t see the young tree or it’s inconvenient to stick their nose in).
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